The Garden Gnome :)

A couple of months ago I clicked on a link to Entrecard on another blog. Unlike other traffic generating websites, Entrecard uses a system of credit currency where you earn credits by dropping your entrecard (an online form of a business card) on other members blogs. They in return can choose to visit your blog or not. Credits earned may be used to advertise on other blogs or they can be used to run special events like contests or giveaways on your blog. They can also be transferred to other members as a reward or just to say thank-you. The biggest difference is that unlike other traffic generating websites, credits earned through Entrecard can be bought or sold, so they do have a cash value.

Each blog must have a unique email address associated with that blog. To date, I have two blogs active on Entrecard. Each blog is allowed a 300 maximum daily drop. I created icons to be used as my entrecards for each of my blogs and one for my Epinions link. I tried to keep them similar so if you see any of these icons while are surfing you will immediately recognize them as mine. Clicking the icon will bring you to the associated site. So if you stumple upon one of my icons, please click and leave a message to say hi.

For those of you who don't know, my nick name Garden Gnome came from one of my kids after affectionately patting me on the head and telling me I looked like a garden gnome! The nick name stuck. The avatar on my profile is a picture of Gnameless, one of my gnomes, At present, I have fourteen gnomes, all with names. Some are outdoor gnomes while others are indoor gnomes. I also have a few fairies, smurfs and pixies but only one troll who only appears at Christmas along with a few elves.

All of my blogs have the common themes of family and friends, love of nature and good food yet each are unique in their own way. They were created as a way of sharing what is important to me. In many ways when combined they have become somewhat of a personal diary. Family is my priority so while I may blog my opinions and occasionally a minor rant you won't see inappropriate material. All are family oriented so even little ones can enjoy them. I'm a very visual person so you will see a lot of photos, video clips and that type of thing. Most of the photos and images are either taken or created by me. So a bit about my bogs:

Garden Gnome Wanderings was my first large scale blog, created on April 25, 2006. At that time I had five raised beds and small greenhouse, planted using the square foot gardening method. I also had traditional flower beds and grew in containers. Blogging about my gardening experiences became a way of sharing the ups and downs of gardening. It also became a learning experience for me. This blog has evolved to include environmental issues and more detailed write-ups about various plants and garden visitors. We moved last year so I'm in the process of re-organizing gardens, while re-establishing vegetable and herb beds as well as learning about what is here.
Mom's Cafe Home Cooking was created April 28, 2006 as a natural extension to my gardening blog. With gardening comes excess produce so I do a lot of home food preserving, mainly canning and freezing but also drying and curing. I like to cook and I like putting good, healthy food on the family table. This blog really features my cooking style and how I do things in the kitchen. The food is very much a down home, country style of cooking and while I like to experiment with new ingredients, you won't find a lot of gourmet here. What you will find is good food mingled with my thoughts and something I feel important is the economics of food preparation especially when it comes to canning. Entries include but are not limited to recipes, opinions, methods, tips, appliances and so much more but the main focus is on cooking.

My Journey (this blog) was created September 19, 2006 as a way of sharing things that didn't fit into either cooking or gardening. Just about any topic I find interesting that day is fair game. Most Sundays are a Blog Your Blessings (BYBS) post, the brainchild of BluePanther, so please stop by and say hi. Thanks to him I've met some very nice bloggers. For quite some time Mondays were reserved for funnies and Wednesdays were wordless but 2008 saw that changing a bit although both still appear from time to time. The change was not deliberate but more of my sometimers kicking in. I have a lot of fun with this blog simply because I talk about anything and everything!
Garden Gnome at Home went online December 10, 2006 at the request of an online friend. This blog highlights some of the things I do as a homemaker. It also highlights crafts and hobbies as well as problems we encounter being home owners. Posts tend to follow what I'm doing then and if I feel others will be interested. Photos, tips and methods are included. This is more of a how to blog but not always. Some of the topics featured include: gardening, cooking, scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, crocheting, decorating and much more. There is a strong environmental component as well with energy efficiency playing a large part in some posts.

I joined Epinions on October 18,2006. Why? I have a lot of opinions on the products that I use. I try to be very fair and very detailed with any of my ratings as any product will have both pros and cons. What you will find are products I've use and rated according to performance. Disclosure: I am compensated for my opinions but that doesn't affect my ratings for products and/or services. I basically tell you what it is based on my experience.

Now you have met all my icons so be sure to stop by and say hello!

Garden Gnome
©2007